Healthy Bread & Butter Pudding: Eggless, gluten-free & vegan!

This Healthy Bread & Butter Pudding is refined-sugar-free, gluten-free and can even be dairy-free & vegan! Made in 30 minutes, this comforting British classic is perfect for keeping you warm & cosy on chilly winter evenings!

With only 4 days until December 1st, the Christmas vibes are quickly rising! Already, I’ve heard Christmas songs on the radio and shimmering lights hanging from houses and trees. The weather is getting colder by the minute, and the ‘Big Freeze’ is on its way to England. With a faulty central heating system, I’ve resorted to woolly jumpers and fluffy socks, and the oven has become the main heat source in the house.

The main reason for this, of course, is that December is a great time for baking! Mince pies, gingerbread biscuits, fruit cakes and Lebkuchen are just some of my favourite treats to make at Christmas. For today, however, we’ll be making a classic British dessert: Bread & Butter pudding.

Having eaten this traditional dish many times with my family, it holds a special place in my heart. I love the warm, sweet smell that swirls out of the open oven door, and watching expectantly as the metal server divides it into square portions. Waiting with a spoonful poised in front of you and watching the steam rise from it… yet eating it anyway, as temptation surpasses the fact that it is scolding hot. Even spitting out the odd burnt raisin is all part of it!

Well, to begin with, there’s only 2 tablespoons of butter in the whole recipe! To replace the majority, we use Greek yoghurt. (The small amount of butter is to drizzle over the pudding for a crisp & golden top.) To keep it vegan, you can either substitute a dairy-free yoghurt, or just leave it out entirely.

You can use a gluten-free bread, but if you don’t require this to be gluten-free, you can use wholewheat bread. Wholewheat bread still contains lots of healthy fibre, whereas white bread loses its fibre during the refining process. If you aren’t too keen on the more heavy-going wholegrain bread, you could use a 50/50 bread like I did. This way, you’ll still get some fibre but it will be lighter and more similar to the taste and texture of white bread.

Instead of sugar, we use maple syrup – just 2 tablespoons! Honey would work instead, but it won’t mix in quite as well because honey is thicker than maple syrup.

To suit those of you who are vegans and/or lactose-intolerant, you can use a dairy-free milk for this recipe. I used almond milk, and it worked beautifully! Also (including those of you who, like me, are sometimes too lazy to crack an egg😉) this recipe is eggless!

And yet, the same soft, oozing centre with a crispy top is achieved, along with a sweet, gently spiced flavour.

This Healthy Bread & Butter Pudding is refined-sugar-free, gluten-free and can even be dairy-free! Made in 30 minutes, this comforting British classic is perfect for keeping you warm & cosy on chilly winter evenings!

Ingredients

•8 slices of bread*

•Greek yoghurt, to spread on bread (OR butter OR vegan alternative)

•20 g sultanas

•Cinnamon, ground

•Nutmeg, ground

•OPTIONAL: 2 tbsp (30 g) Greek yoghurt (or dairy-free alternative)

•500 ml milk (I used almond milk)**

•2 tbsp (30 ml) maple syrup (or honey)***

•2 tbsp butter (makes top crisp & golden - omit for vegan version)

•OPTIONAL: Ginger, ground

•OPTIONAL: Cloves, ground

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C (160°C fan, 350°F, gas 4). Grease a baking dish (the one I used was 10x7inch).

Spread one side of each slice of bread with yoghurt (or butter or vegan alternative). Cut 5 of the slices diagonally, each into 4 triangles (I stacked 5 into a pile, then sliced through them all at once).

Place some of the triangles into the bottom of the greased baking dish, covering it in a single layer. Dot raisins evenly across the bread, then sprinkle the whole layer with cinnamon and nutmeg.

Repeat this process for another layer.

With the remaining 3 slices of bread, cut them diagonally in half (cutting of the crusts too if you wish) and position the 6 triangles into a single layer on top of the other 2 layers in the baking dish. Don't put raisins & spices on just yet!

Measure 1 tbsp of your chosen milk into a measuring jug, and add the yoghurt (if using). Mix together, add a little more milk and mix, then the rest of the milk.

Stir in the maple syrup.

Pour this over the bread in the baking dish, until evenly soaked with liquid.

Melt the 2 tbsp butter in the microwave and gently drizzle evenly over the top layer of bread.

THEN sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg, and (if using) a small sprinkle of ground cloves & ginger. You can put raisins on top if you wish, but I find that they tend to burn and shrivel up into chewy lumps, so it's up to you. (I used dates on top of mine for decoration, but they were still chewy and burnt, so I wouldn't recommend!)

Place in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes, until golden on top. (NOTE: It may not be particularly golden if you didn't drizzle butter on top)

Remove from oven, leave to cool for 5-10 minutes, then serve and enjoy!

Notes

*Gluten-free if required. I used a 50/50 bread (brown & white blend). You may need more slices, depending on the size of your baking dish.

**Other dairy-free milks will work, or just normal milk.

***If you don't have maple syrup or honey, use an equal amount of brown sugar.

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Hi! I'm Katie! Welcome to Katrina's Clean Cooking, where you will find lots of healthy, scrumptious recipes.
I’ve always enjoyed cooking and baking (as well as eating!), so began experimenting with food in the kitchen. Having developed quite a collection of recipes, I decided it would be good to share them with other people!
See you around! x